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Sunny Mehta took over his former club-Florida Panthers when he made his first appointment at New Jersey Devils.

Mehta announced the hiring of Braden Burch as Assistant General Manager, adding significant experience and championship pedigree to his hockey operations department.

Birch, the Panthers’ former director of hockey operations and salary cap management, served at Florida since the 2016–17 season, where he was a key member of the front office that led them to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2024 and 2025.

Birch also served as a special assistant to Bill Zito.

The move would give Birch a central role at both the NHL club and its AHL affiliate. In his new position, Birch will serve as general manager of the Utica Comets, while supporting Mehta and the broader front office in key strategic areas including player scouting, contract negotiations, roster construction and salary cap planning.

This multifaceted role provides the Devils with a battle-tested executive who has clearly demonstrated an understanding of every layer of building a winner.

“Braden will be an extremely valuable addition to our senior hockey operations group,” Mehta said. “His blend of on-ice experience, management background and intelligence will serve him well in his new role. Braden will work to elevate all areas of our operation, and I look forward to joining his existing front office, where his personality and work ethic will be an excellent fit.”

Birch expressed excitement about the opportunity: “I’m really excited to take this next step in my professional career. I want to thank Bill Zito, the Viola family, and the entire Florida Panthers organization for 12 amazing years, and the ability to help a front office achieve the ultimate goal of a Stanley Cup championship. I greatly appreciate them giving me the opportunity to further my professional career in New Jersey. I look forward to getting the Devils back to that level of success.” Look forward to working with Sunny and his group to achieve what we are confident they can achieve.”

Birch is a sixth-round draft pick by the Chicago Blackhawks (179th overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft.

A left-shot defenseman, he played collegiately at Cornell University in the ECAC from 2009–10 to 2012–13. In 128 career games with the Big Red, he recorded 21 points (5 goals, 16 assists) and 92 penalty minutes while serving as tri-captain in his senior season.

Professionally, Burch served in the ECHL with affiliates in both Florida and Colorado, and spent time in Finland’s Liiga with HIFK, where he wore an assistant captain’s letter. Before turning professional, he developed through strong junior programs with Oakville (OJHL/OPJHL), Nanaimo (BCHL) and Stoney Creek (GHL).

Off the ice, Birch earned a master’s degree in sports management from Florida Atlantic University, preparing him for a long-term career in hockey leadership.

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry wrote an op-ed in 2025 arguing for change to fix a “broken” college athletics system, in which many universities had “unduly spent” on coaches and their respective staffs. A few months later, the LSU Tigers have now spent nearly a quarter of a billion on coaching changes.

According to Pete Nacos of On3.com, LSU has committed more than $200 million to hire football coach Lane Kiffin, men’s basketball coach Will Wade and their respective coaching staffs.

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As of October 2025, the Tigers’ athletic department has fired head football coach Brian Kelly and recently parted ways with Matt McMahon. The school immediately began searching for his replacement, poaching Kiffin from the Ole Miss Rebels and bringing Wade back to Louisiana.

Settlement offers with Kelly went nowhere, resulting in the former Tigers head coach now set to receive a total of $54 million from the program. Firing McMahon, who had three years left on his contract, would have cost the school an additional $8 million.

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Under new athletic director Verge Osberry, the public university is spending at a rate we’ve never seen from any school. Kiffin received a seven-year, $91 million contract, plus LSU paid the College Football Playoff bonuses he earned while the Rebels advanced without him. The Tigers have one of the largest and most expensive coaching staffs in college football, with a budget of zero and $40 million spent in the transfer portal.

LSU also paid $7 million to acquire Kiffin ($3 million) and Wade ($4 million) from their previous programs. Wade’s new deal, worth $30 million over seven years, is one of the largest contracts in college basketball and he is reportedly expected to have a $12 million roster budget for the men’s basketball team next season.

Not surprisingly, Gov. Landry fully supported Wade’s appointment, just months after he had lamented how much college athletics were costing universities. Apparently, a quarter-billion dollar overhaul of just two men’s college teams doesn’t count as much spending in the eyes of Louisiana’s governor.

Matt Johnson is the senior NFL and college football editor for Sportsknot. His work including the weekly NFL and college… More about Matt Johnson

Clint Kubiak changed his mind.

Three weeks after the Las Vegas Raiders announced their coaching staff would be without a quarterbacks coach – a decision that raised eyebrows considering the decision was coming on April 23 – Kubiak has returned and filled the spot. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo, the Raiders are hiring longtime NFL assistant Mike Sullivan for the role.

Sullivan, 59, has been a quarterbacks coach in this league four times: twice with the New York Giants, once with the Denver Broncos, and most recently with the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2021-23. He also has experience as an offensive coordinator with the Buccaneers and Giants. He was set to join Rutgers as a senior offensive assistant before coming back to Las Vegas. The two have history, as Sullivan and Kubiak were on the same Broncos staff in 2018.

Rent matters for an obvious reason. Fernando Mendoza is almost certainly walking through that door as the No. 1 pick in Pittsburgh on April 23 and the Raiders have a complicated history developing young quarterbacks. Sullivan helped bring along Eli Manning during New York’s 2011 Super Bowl run. He has done this before also.

When I wrote about this vacancy in early March, the thinking around the organization was that Kubiak, along with OC Andrew Janko and assistant head coach Mike McCoy, had enough experienced offensive minds in the building to cover the position. This is still true. But adding Sullivan doesn’t hurt. It just means Mendoza has another voice – a dedicated one – when the real work begins.

The question mark on the staff in 2026 was always Rob Leonard on defense, not the QB room. Sullivan’s appointment does not change that. But for a franchise that has often botched quarterback development, getting this piece right matters. Kubiak called. Now we’ll see what Sullivan does with it.

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It’s looked hopeless at many points this season, but somehow, the Milwaukee Bucks are still alive in the playoff race — especially now that Giannis Antetokounmpo is back in action after a long absence of more than a month due to a calf injury.

Although it is mathematically possible for the Bucks to make the play-in tournament, as at the time of writing, they are only four games behind the Atlanta Hawks in the standings, the fact that they are not in the playoff picture is a clear indication that the team is not very good right now.

There’s no denying Antetokounmpo’s greatness, but the prolonged absence of a superstar shouldn’t mean the team will collapse around him. For the Bucks, they have collapsed most of the season when Antetokounmpo is on the mend. They’ve gone 11-18 without him, and that won’t cut it.

Of course, the good news is that Antetokounmpo remains on the roster, even though he was on the trade block just a month ago and it looked like a blockbuster trade involving him would finally materialize.

It simply means that the Bucks are still on the clock, as there is not zero chance that Antetokounmpo will commit his future to the team despite his disappointing short-term to medium-term outlook.

And while they are limited in the changes they can make to the roster, perhaps the Bucks can start convincing Antetokounmpo that they mean business by cleaning house – starting with the departure of head coach Doc Rivers.

Bucks need to start fresh, move on from Doc Rivers

Despite having a 30–13 record, the Bucks made the surprise decision to fire Adrian Griffin and replace him with Doc Rivers as the team’s head coach in 2024. They finished the season under .500 under Rivers (they went 19–20) and lost in the first round of the playoffs against the eventual conference finalists Indiana Pacers.

Now, this isn’t going to turn into Griffin’s defense. By all accounts, the Bucks locker room questioned his strategy because Griffin had not maximized the team’s personnel. But reports revealed that when Griffin called his players out he took it in stride, although the fact that he did meant that his respect for them was fractured from the start.

Still, Griffin coached a terrible defense, and it was clear Antetokounmpo was growing tired of his schemes. They replaced Griffin with Rivers, who at least has the respect of people in the locker room.

This may be Rivers’ only save at this stage of his coaching career. Everyone knows the story with Rivers: He won a title with the Boston Celtics in 2008, maintains a sense of professionalism in the locker room that commands respect from everyone on the team, and he’s a consistent win producer, at least in the regular season.

Rivers has had his fair share of black eyes in the playoffs. He is the only head coach in NBA history to lead multiple 3–1 playoff series. His star-studded teams perform poorly under the bright lights of the postseason. But that’s all moot when the Bucks team he’s currently coaching couldn’t even make the start of the postseason.

Some Bucks fans may be wondering why Rivers hasn’t been fired yet. The results have not been there, and there has been nothing but disappointment in the Cream City since the team brought him in. It’s clear his voice still has influence in the locker room, and Antetokounmpo is at least there to stay with him unlike Griffin.

The Bucks’ shortcomings this season aren’t really Rivers’ fault. The team he is currently coaching is not very good anyway. But he’s not really adding wins to the team. Some of his rotation decisions recently were surprising; Why did Kyle Kuzma not play at all in their recent loss to the Boston Celtics? Why was Ryan Rollins, of all people, benched upon Antetokounmpo’s return?

It’s time for a fresh start for the Bucks under the tutelage of a well-known coach who knows how to handle a locker room with big egos. And for once, the Bucks will have to enlist the services of a new voice, an up-and-coming assistant who has paid his dues during his time in the NBA.

Why Mika Nori deserves a chance in Milwaukee?

Nouri has been an assistant coach in the NBA for 17 seasons, and he is currently part of the Minnesota Timberwolves coaching staff under head coach Chris Finch. He is the main assistant of the team, as he replaces Finch if he is out or misses time due to personal reasons or injury.

Most accounts state that Nori is adept at managing game situations, meaning his main strength is adjusting to what he sees on the court. Now, the head coaching job requires much more than mastering such skills. Still, his tactical plans could be what brings Antetokounmpo on board for at least the next few years.

If there’s one thing Antetokounmpo wants from a coach, it’s defensive consistency and communication. Nori provides both; Players have appreciated the Timberwolves assistant’s ability to build relationships with them, and he has been instrumental in crafting a Minnesota defense that routinely ranks top-10 in the NBA.

Given that the Bucks lack scoring weapons around Antetokounmpo, getting it done on defense should be priority number one for them. They are currently ranked 24th in that department, so that won’t make the cut. They have solid individual pieces on defense, Kevin Porter Jr. and Rollins are very disruptive, and Myles Turner has a long history of adequate rim protection, but it hasn’t come together under Rivers.

Now, the Bucks may need an experienced head coach to reassign Antetokounmpo. But Milwaukee needs to avoid retreading head coaches at all costs. And there may be no better candidate for the potential Bucks head coaching vacancy than Nouri.

New Los Angeles Lakers owner Mark Walter continues to make big changes to the organization’s basketball and business operations department, and he made another change to his new staff on Wednesday.

Following the hiring of Lon Rosen as the Lakers’ new President of Business Operations a few weeks ago, Walter and the organization announced on Wednesday that Michael Spetsner has been named the new Chief Strategy and Development Officer.

Spetsner has spent the last decade of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, most recently holding the position of Vice President of Business Strategy and Analytics for the organization. Working with Walter for the Dodgers, Spetsner played a key role in identifying commercial opportunities for the franchise, implementing new business models for rights holders, and modernizing the fan ecosystem.

In this newly created role with the Lakers, Spetsner will lead the organization’s long-term business strategy to drive value and identify international growth opportunities.

“As we look to redefine what’s possible across the sports landscape for fans and partners, we will build on the Lakers’ legacy and look to the future to see what’s next,” Rosen said in the team’s press release. “Michael’s leadership will help us optimize our business to ensure long-term value.”

This role designed for Spetsner appears to be a continuation of what he was doing with the Dodgers, as he did a lot of work with international engagement and led L.A.’s efforts to launch a Japan-based fan club. He was also instrumental in helping create a massive museum-style exhibit in Tokyo to celebrate the Dodgers’ history and global appeal.

The Lakers announced the hiring of Spetsner just one week after adding former NCAA champion and Virginia basketball head coach Tony Bennett as the organization’s new NBA Draft advisor.

In this role, Bennett will play a key role alongside executive Rob Pelinka in the Lakers’ decisions during and before the draft, assisting with player evaluation, scouting and the final decision on who the organization should select.

As far as Pelinka’s role in leading the team is concerned, Walter and Rosen have made it clear that they do not want to make any changes to the executive’s position and ability to usher in a new era of success for the Lakers.

“I just run the business side, Rob has the authority to do what he does,” Rosen said, via ESPN. “Look, I have a great relationship with Rob. I’ve known Rob Pelinka since he was representing Kobe [Bryant]. I met him many, many years ago.”

Since purchasing the Lakers from Jenny Buss and her family, Walter has continued to position this historic organization for success by making key decisions on the business side of basketball. Spetsner is the latest name to join this newly revamped staff, which features plenty of faces who have turned the Dodgers into MLB’s marquee powerhouse.

Walter aims to do the same in the NBA with the Lakers.

The Cleveland Browns have a new head coach, but there’s no guarantee Todd Monken will immediately get better results in his first season. Still, the Browns are taking steps to ensure Monken has experienced minds he can rely on throughout the season.

On Tuesday, ESPN’s NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported that the Browns have hired 75-year-old Dom Capers to Monken’s staff. Capers will serve the team as a senior defensive assistant.

Capers has been the head coach for a total of eight seasons, split between the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans. However, he also spent 16 seasons as an NFL defensive coordinator with the Packers, Steelers, Jaguars and Dolphins. His job as defensive coordinator moved to Green Bay in 2017.

His most recent work came with the Panthers, where he spent the last three seasons as a senior defensive assistant at Carolina. It’s the same job he’s been doing since 2019 between the Jaguars, Vikings, Lions, Broncos and Panthers. Now he’ll see if he can help Monken and defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg in 2026.

With a first-year head coach, offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator, the Browns will need help in some way or another next season, and now that plan includes Capers.

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Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross released his first statement after making the decision on hiring the franchise’s newest general manager.

Ross made the tough choice to move on from longtime member Chris Grier, who dedicated a lot of time to the Dolphins since 2000. He was the general manager from 2016 to 2025, moving on midway through this past season after Miami was unable to build winning consistency as a franchise in the modern NFL era.

Ross moved forward with the crucial decision of finding the next GM. He hired Jon-Eric Sullivan over from the Green Bay Packers, releasing a statement to NFL insider Tom Pelissero on why he made the decision to hire Sullivan.

“I could not be more excited to welcome Jon-Eric Sullivan as our next general manager. Jon-Eric brings a clear vision for how to build and run a football team, founded upon his own experience at a winning organization. As we went through our search process, it became undeniable the respect Jon-Eric has across the league as a talent evaluator, leader and man of integrity,” Ross said.

“We had an extremely talented group of candidates, and Jon-Eric’s ability to stand out so clearly speaks to how impressive he is — not only for his experience, but also his depth of knowledge, his detail-oriented approach and his passion. I believe we found the best of the best in Jon-Eric, and I’m looking forward to working with him as he leads us into a new era of Dolphins football.”

What’s next for Dolphins after GM hire

It’s clear that Stephen Ross wants to embrace a different direction for the Dolphins, hoping that Jon-Eric Sullivan will right the ship.

Miami also moved on from head coach Mike McDaniel after four seasons, meaning that Ross and Sullivan will heavily communicate on who should be the next leader for the squad.

The Dolphins haven’t had the identity of being serious contenders since the Dan Marino era. Making the playoffs six times since the legendary quarterback retired in 2000, they haven’t been able to make their mark in past seasons. With Ross making the actions to carve a new path, there could be hope that Miami returns to the discussion as a threat for the league to prepare for.